1972 Chevrolet Corvette for sale in Charlotte, North Carolina

$499,900

At RK motors Charlotte we specialize in high caliber, one-of-a-kind cars that have unmatched pedigrees and amazing stories. Every now and then, we find a car that is so unique and has such a rich history that we almost cant believe our own eyes. This magazine featured 1972 Corvette has been verified by Motion Performance as a one of one bridge car between the Motion Maco Shark body kits and the Motion Manta Ray super cars.
Motion Performance was the biggest aftermarket tuner of General Motors vehicles in the late 60s and early 70s. They are best known for creating the Fantastic Five which included the SS-427 Camaro, Impala, Chevelle, Corvette and Nova. In 1969 Joel Rosen, the founder of Motion Performance, decided that he wanted to produce the ultimate sports car and began building 500+ horsepower Motion Phase III GT Corvettes. In 1971, amidst brisk sales of Phase III parts and slumping sales of complete Phase III cars, it was decided that the complete Phase III GT package was too expensive. As a result, the company started producing fiberglass Corvette body kits that were modeled after GMs Mako Shark concept car and even closely named Maco Shark. By 1973, Mr. Rosen was again determined to build an ultimate super car and three 400+ horsepower Corvette Manta Ray GTs were built. The 1972 Corvette featured here was a Motion Performance custom build that explored design possibilities for what would become the 1973 Manta Ray GT. It utilizes the front clip of a Maco Shark body kit and combines it with the first known build of the boat tail rear window and modified B-Pillars of the Manta Ray GTs.
Later dubbed by Mr. Rosen as the Moray GT, this Corvette had made the rounds at Motion and supercar events for years but was never fully researched or verified. Most enthusiasts in the Motion community thought it was a Motion Manta Ray GT that had been wrecked and creatively repaired with a custom nose piece. When the car went up for sale a few years ago, a passionate car guy found it on eBay and just happened to know a good friend of Joel Rosen. When initially asked about the car, Mr. Rosen dismissed it as merely a kit that was a Motion knock off. However, after putting some thought into it and questioning key pieces of the car, Mr. Rosen verified that this Corvette was actually a one off build that used the front of a Motion Maco Shark kit and the rear of what would become the Motion Manta Ray GT. The car had been lost for over 30 years and remarkably, was very much true to form despite being passed through multiple owners hands. Once a higher price was negotiated with the current owner, it was hauled to Pennington Auto Body where Rayburn Pennington began a frame up restoration that was overseen by Mr. Rosen himself. If the name Rayburn Pennington sounds familiar to Motion fans out there, it should as he is the owner of the only survivor 1973 Motion Manta Ray GT known to exist. When the restoration was completed to Mr. Rosens satisfaction, he officially named the car and presented the owners with correct paperwork verifying that it is a genuine Motion Performance build.
Once the car debuted to the public, it was no stranger to the camera. Over the last 5 years it has landed a cover story and many other small write ups in Corvette Fever, been featured in Hemmings Muscle Machines, Vette Vues and Chevy Rumble, and has appeared on My Classic Car with Dennis Gage and Car Crazy with Barry Meguiar. The car was then invited to the Amelia Island Concours DElegance, won a blue ribbon for Best Muscle Car at the Ault Park Concours DElegance in Ohio and was invited to display at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky.
Today this car is in spectacular, mostly untouched condition with all of its Motion Performance components functioning and intact. It scored 997 out of 1000 possible points at Chevy Vettefest in November of 2008 and carries its original numbers matching engine and driveline. The body on the car is showroom perfect and really reflects well on the quality of work that Motion performance was putting on the streets 39 years ago. We have restoration photos showing the entire frame up restoration and verification that the familiar Motion Performance paint scheme, which is actually trademarked and highly protected by Joel Rosen, is accurate and correct. In fact, the only way to get Motion body enhancers such as stripe stencils, Motion emblems or Motion decals is to verify your car with Joel Rosen. Once the car is verified, either Mr. Rosen or the current president of Motion Performance will send you Motion identification by request only.
The cars 2006 frame up restoration returned the car to exactly what it should have looked like in 1972. I say should have because when Motion initially sent the car off to be painted, the body shop used a black primer and the yellow pearl paint ended up displaying an unappealing shade of green. Mr. Rosen, who was understandably unhappy, then promptly had the car repainted correct pearl yellow at another unidentified body shop. In 2006, the unappealing shade of green was still present under trim pieces in the door jambs of the car and was key to verifying its unique status. Once it was time for new paint, Mr. Rosen spent days researching current colors to try and find something that was as close to the 70s pearl yellow as possible. It was decided that a Dupont Hot Hues Yellow basecoat with a gold pearl overcoat would be an excellent substitution and have the same excellent dynamics as the original enamel paint. Once the yellow was applied, a correct black stinger stripe and black rear panel were added to complete the cars visual heritage. All of the original Motion body parts are present and accounted for including the custom one piece fiberglass front end, custom flat rear window, custom rear spoiler and custom fiberglass racing mirrors. At the front of the car, a custom billet grille houses headlights and spans from one side of the nose to the other. The cars original grille was so badly damaged that it wasnt repairable, so with Mr. Rosens approval, a replacement was fabricated. At the edges of the grille, flared fenders that remind Corvette faithful of the Mako Shark concept car, were a main features of the Motion Maco Shark body kit. In the middle of the fenders, two functional billet hood grates are prominently featured and flanked by Motion and 454 badges. When the car was created in 1972, a large hood blister was meant to house some form of cooling, but for some reason the hood was never modified. During the 2006 restoration, Mr. Rosen commissioned the same person who fabricated the grille to create matching hood grates which would complete the design. Behind the grates, a pristine glass windshield is seated in well maintained stainless trim which secures body matched T-tops. The left top has been signed by former Corvette Chief Engineer Dave McLellan and the right top has been signed by Joel Rosen himself. Below the tops youll find the cars original chrome door handles and the cars original Motion installed stainless side pipes. Behind the T-tops, Motion added a boat tail rear window, complete with a Motion Performance sticker, and reworked the cars B-pillars for a more flowing design. The installation of the rear window forced relocation of the fuel filler to the drivers side rear fender where youll find an original stainless moon style flip up cap. On the decklid, a tall second generation Camaro inspired rear spoiler was molded to the body to give the car an even more exaggerated and aggressive look ...For more information please call the seller.

Year:  1980 or older
Miles:  60 000 - 64 999

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